
DAY
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2. The Legacy of Faith and of Distrust.
In the book of Genesis human choices most often were based upon sight,
taste, touch, sound, and reason rather than on faith. Eve, Adam, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, and a host of others sometimes followed the voice of the
creature rather than the clear word of God. Cain chose his own mode of
worship while Abel trusted himself completely to the merits of Another.
Ever since, righteousness by works has been in conflict with righteousness
by faith.
RECALL: Although by nature the biblical heroes were as prone to sin as
their contemporaries, what examples can you think of that reveal that di-
vine grace enables people to rise above the level of their selfish propensities?
Genesis reminds us that the way of trust in God's love and wisdom is
more beneficial than any attempt on our part to gain our own wishes.
Believing the promise of Genesis 3:15, Adam called his wife "mother of
the living," and Eve saw in Cain and Seth anticipations of the Seed, if not
the
Seed. By faith Noah obeyed God and built the ark. He and his family
entered it in spite of a mocking crowd. By faith Abraham chose Canaan
and was willing to offer Isaac. By faith the line of God's family continued
through Jacob rather than through Esau. By faith Joseph rose to promi-
nence and preeminence and Ephriam superseded Manasseh. These four
generations of the family of Abraham reveal the superiority of the way of
faith over the path of sight. But it was not the easiest way to travel.
"It is one of the strongest evidences of the truth of Scripture, that facts
are not glossed over, nor the sins of its chief characters suppressed. ...
"Men whom God favored, and to whom He entrusted great responsibil-
ities, were sometimes overcome by temptation and committed sin, even as
we at the present day strive, waver, and frequently fall into error. Their
lives, with all their faults and follies, are open before us, both for our
encouragement and warning. If they had been represented as without fault,
we, with our sinful nature, might despair at our own mistakes and failures.
But seeing where others struggled through discouragements like our own,
where they fell under temptation as we have done, and yet took heart again
and conquered through the grace of God, we are encouraged in our striving
after righteousness."—Patriarchs
and Prophets,
p. 238.
IV. THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
The theme of promise of descendants, land, and salvation binds together
the narratives within Genesis and links Genesis to the rest of Scripture.
The genealogies and the table of nations testify to the fulfillment of God's
blessings given at Creation, as do also the patriarchal narratives. Genesis
begins the movement from promise to fulfillment that extends beyond the
Pentateuch and, according to the New Testament, meets its final realization
in the "better country, that is, an heavenly" (Heb. 11:16). The first book of
the Bible began with the vibrant life of creation and concluded with a coffin.
Nevertheless, the patriarchs did not die in despair but died full of faith and
hope. Beyond both Egypt and the grave they anticipated a better land.
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